It Shall Rain Books!

Any good writer should be a reader, right? I don’t understand people who say they want to be writers, yet they don’t read any books. Isn’t that like wanting to be an artist when you don’t look at any art? Or wanting to be a musician but never listening to music?

In 2011, I’m planning to read more in hopes that absorbing a lot of good writing will help me to write better. I really want to read more YA (since that’s the genre I want to write), classic novels, and writing craft books. I want to make it my goal to read at least one book per week. That should be about 52 books for the year.

I also want to finish Proust’s behemoth of a novel.

I’ve read the first three volumes and because of the density of Proust’s prose, it’s taken me quite a while to get through them.

I’d also like to read The Sound and the Fury again (although that wouldn’t count as one of the 52 books). Words cannot describe how much I adore that book.

Do you have any reading goals for the new year? Please share! 🙂

Oh – and Merry Christmas to everyone! (Or Happy Holidays, if you prefer.)

I love to read. The problem I usually run into is that I don’t have the money to buy them! And I love actually owning the books, having them lining my shelves. I just got some money for the holidays, so of course I already stocked up. And I plan on getting even more. I love to read. That’s what got me into writing after all.

Last year the amount of books I read was horrifying. I am pretty ashamed of it. This year I plan on doing a bit better. So far I have started off pretty good, so I guess we’ll see. If I could though, I’d spend every free second of my time reading a good book.

I do notice that reading helps me get into a good mindset to write. And especially reading something that is well written, helps to improve my own writing. And since I haven’t read much in the last year, the book I’ve been writing has slowly gone a bit down hill.

And the amount of fascinating ideas and worlds in novels are a good motivator. You want to create your own world that is just as unique and exciting as the ones you read. It gives you something to strive for.

Everything you say is epic truth. I’d love to own a lot of books, but I’m running out of space to put them! I usually borrow them from the library. Alibris.com is a really good place to buy books – I’ve noticed that the prices, including shipping and handling, are often much better than actual bookstore prices.

I loved “The Sound and the Fury” and also plan to read it again and also another great: “East of Eden”. As for YA, may I suggest Zora Neal Hurston’s “Their Eye’s Were Watching God” and Mark Twain’s “Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, two classics not to be missed. Happy Reading and Blogging in the New Year!

Haha, I love the first paragraph! It’s completely true – do you really expect to become an author, if you can’t stand reading??
Currently I’m reading “Poet in Exile” by Ray Manzarek… I’m almost done, and loving it!
For 2011, I’m going to try to complete the A-Z reading challenge, though I’ll probably finish it in 2012. I have to complete 52 books for that challenge, which honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to fit into my day. Any suggestions for books to read??

Hmmm… The Magus by John FowlesThe Book Thief by Markus ZusakJane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (even if you’ve already read it, it’s worth a re-read)Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John BerendtThe Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (actually anything by him)East of Eden by John Steinbeck…

I have a bunch of Dickens novels sitting at home that I want to read – and all your other books are on my list. I’m not too big of a Nicholas Sparks fan, though, but I think I may read another one by him. Maybe it’ll be better than The Notebook. Thank you for commenting! 🙂